Amazon chooses Northern Virginia, New York for HQ2

Michael Gianaris and New York City Council member Jimmy Van Bramer, both Democrats, said they have "serious reservations" about reports that Amazon will divide its long-awaited "HQ2" between two cities - Long Island City and Crystal City, Virginia.

Amazon representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the politicians' statement.

The development projects, which could be announced as soon as Tuesday, promise to bring the cities a giant infusion of jobs and tax revenue, but are nearly certain to draw fire from critics concerned about their impact on infrastructure and property values.

The company had originally said, in September 2017, that it would spend more than $5 billion and add up to 50,000 workers at a single location for its second headquarter.

The second headquarters will reportedly be evenly divided between Long Island City in NY and Crystal City in Arlington County.

Amazon has already been awarded more than $1.6 billion of state and local public subsidies across the U.S. since 2000, with most of that after 2012, according to a database from the Washington-based government watchdog Good Jobs First. He was hopeful that HQ2 would come to New York City.

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Amazon narrowed the contest to 20 finalist cities in January, then asked for reams of data and made whirlwind two-day site visits, during which cities tried to impress the company's economic development team.

The project is expected to bring 25,000 jobs to each of the locations. Its current world headquarters is in Seattle.

Some critics had pushed for more transparency from cities and states in the bidding process, warning that the benefits of hosting a massive Amazon office may not offset the tax-payer funded incentives and other costs. Even half of that would amount to one of the largest corporate location deals, according to Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First, which tracks corporate subsidies.

As Amazon's search dragged on, residents in numerous 20 finalist cities anxious about the effect such a massive project could have on housing and traffic, as well as what potential tax incentives could cost the community.

But it's also fair to review Amazon itself.

The company has already had to navigate similar issues at its more than 45,000-person urban campus in Seattle.

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